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Apostrophes

I am grammar challenged in general and haven't quite figured the use of apostrophes and it is not for the want of trying. Anytime I see someone use a semicolon in what appears to be in the right context, I am very impressed. I figure if I have survived thus far without getting apostrophes right, I'll be okay with this handicap for the rest of my life. When I saw this excellent visual on the correct use of the apostrophe by Mathew Inman of The Oatmeal, I wondered if there was a chance that I could learn too.

I managed to keep up with Inman for the first couple of rules but starting losing him right around the fourth or fifth. Clearly, this is not one of those "a picture is worth a thousand words" things - I am just not wired in a way that will allow apostrophe (or grammar) rules to sink in.

Skipping over to the end, I was delighted to find advise that I could actually put to good use : When in doubt, don't use an apostrophe. That pretty much, sums up my strategy with them anyway. Looks like I have a workable solution and as they say don't fix what's not broken.
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Comments

LIFE_REFACTORED said…
For a person who appears to be a reading and blogging addict, I'm surprised you have a problem with apostrophes. Can you share one instance of a confusion you have. I'd like to understand the problem better?
12:23 AM
Heartcrossings said…
Life Refactored - Where do I begin with the apostrophes ? Suffice it to say unless it is a possessive of the easiest kind, I hesitate to use it. I will Google it I can or reconstruct the sentence so I can get by without the apostrophe. My grammar challenges obviously don't end with the apostrophe.
6:53 AM
LIFE_REFACTORED said…
Aw come on. I think you are being just too humble. Looking around, I see a lot of Furnitures and Furniture's, Peoples, Brake's , Slope's, Photograph's , smiley's , Xerox's . I have also seen Chinnus Cafe's, Spicy Samosa's.
Going by your writing I'm damn sure your problems must transcend these issues. I'm just curious. I'm sure I'm worser when it comes to grammar and your writing is so much better off than mine that I'm surprised you seem to have a problem with an apostrophe of all things! Nevertheless good luck with mastering that one.
11:27 PM
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